What is the efficacy of family focused interventions for improving communication in the context of anxiety and depression in those aged 14-24 years?

The ability to communicate is integral to all human relationships. Previous research has specifically highlighted communication in families as both a risk and protective factor for anxiety disorders and/or depression. Yet, there is limited understanding about whether communication is amenable to intervention in the context of adolescent psychopathology and whether doing so improves outcomes. The aim of this systematic review was to determine in which contexts and for whom does addressing communication in families appear to work, not work, and why? From a total of 2418 papers that were screened, eight randomised controlled trials were identified from a systematic search of the literature. There was significant heterogeneity in the features of communication that were measured across these studies. There were mixed findings regarding whether family-focussed interventions led to improvements in communication. While there was limited evidence that family-focussed interventions led to improvements in communication relative to interventions without a family-focussed component, we discuss these findings in the context of the significant limitations in the studies reviewed. We conclude that further research is required to assess the efficacy of family focused interventions for improving communication in the context of anxiety and depression in those aged 14-24 years.